A Rose from Asphodel
by Harfold Setimus
Summary: When the Goddess of Love botches telling the future, who cleans up the mess? Her daughter. Fate isn't kind to Nico, but his friends sure as Hades are. Taking place just after the War with Gaea, Piper joins with a crew of unlikely old friends to fix her Mom's mistake, save a friend's life, and not get caught sneaking around after curfew. Rated T 'cause Nico kills stuff. Let's begin.
1. Chapter 1

Where else could we start?

 **Chapter 1:** Aphrodite's old beach house.

The goddess of love has a tendency to... change. Her physical appearance is constantly shifting, and she appears differently to different people. Becoming increasingly beautiful, learning how to make different people jealous.

But there is something about the Old Lands that makes this difficult. Standing on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, looking out over the water, Aphrodite felt the pull of her roots. With the conquest of the giants by that cute little ruffian, Percy Jackson, and his band of friends, the Mediterranean wasn't quite as off-limits as it had once been. But it was still just as old, just as dangerous, just as... Primal. The body of water Aphrodite stood before was where she had come from. The blood of Oranos, shed by his son Kronos, mixed with this water, had created a divine essence from which Aphrodite was born.

So basically, this lake was her mom.

Something, (maybe mama lake,) was trying to make Aphrodite stay solid, concrete. Make her pick a form. So she let herself settle, and then looked down. She gasped, then laughed to herself. The bronze skin, the orange tee and blue jeans, the dark hair, braided with a white eagle's feather...

The spitting image of Piper McLean laughed softly. "Lucky for me," she said quietly, "I have a gorgeous daughter. Now, where am I?" Aphrodite had no idea what she was doing here in the middle of the night, but she didn't mind surprises as much as some of the other gods.

The girl who was a goddess turned. And gasped out loud. Again. OK, this _really_ wasn't possible.

Aphrodite was standing in the moonlight in front of her old seaside home. This was where she had lived thousands of years ago, when Psyche had come to her, begging forgiveness for betraying the trust of Eros, Psyche's husband, and Aphrodite's (adopted,) son. This place had disappeared years ago, however. Even if the building had stayed, it would have to be thousands of years old. This home looked brand new.

A ball of pretty pink fire exploded into the hand that belonged to Piper. Aphrodite smirked. "Whoever is messing around with me is about to regret it."

Using the fireball to light her path, she picked her way through the sand of the beach to the house. It looked deserted. No lights on. No noise inside. She tried the door. Unlocked.

She let herself into her old house, looking at the 300 B.C. style kitchen. They didn't make them like that any more. Pity.

Admiring her daughter's reflection in the bronze mirror on the wall, Aphrodite suddenly heard something. There was someone else in the house. Aphrodite walked down the hall on quiet feet towards the noise. She could feel Piper's body was in peak fighting condition, and was grateful. She could see the light of a fire in Eros's old room, and a shadow moving. She heard the noise again, almost like a quiet whimper of pain. She slipped into the room.

It was like going back in time. Weeping with his back to Aphrodite was a teenager, about Piper's height, in a white toga, with feathery wings stretching from exposed shoulders. Like her son...

But this figure was not Eros.

Rather than pale, he had a good tan, and rather than white dove wings, these wings were metallic gold, shining like the S-

Like the Sun.

Was it possible?

The wings on the teenager's back became a bright gold quiver, then a yellow travel bag. The toga became a white hoodie and khaki shorts. The boy turned and pulled back his hood.

"Hiya, beauty queen."

Only one god had the guts to call Aphrodite that. Aphrodite gazed in wonder.

"Apo-"

The child Sun god held up a quick had for silence, then pointed a finger in the sky. "Dad doesn't know I'm here." The names of the gods tended to call godly attention, especially when spoken _by_ other gods.

"But- but-" Aphrodite ran her hands through Piper's hair. "This is impossible. Ze- the _Big guy_ turned you back to human form! As punishment after the War with Gaea! You run a guitar shop in Utah! You can't-"

Apollo took a seat by the fire and gestured for Aphrodite to sit as well. "Something's happened." he began, stretching his hands to the flames, as if the Sun god were cold. "Dad's turned me into a human a couple of times before, as punishment. Both times I've never had any godly power 'til Dad gave it back. But Delphi wasn't closed then. This time is different. Someone's been messing around with fate, and Delphi has thrown off the serpent long enough for me to tell you how to set things right. Otherwise, the Fates' plan won't come to pass. And I don't fancy seeing the Fates angry."

The very thought made Aphrodite shudder. "What's going to happen?"

The reflection of the hearth danced in Apollo's eyes. He thought for a moment before answering. "One of the demigods from Gaea's War is going to die. Very soon. None of them are _fated_ to die for the next few decades. Frank Zhang will- was _going_ to be the first to pass. But even he has much fuel to burn. This death will be much sooner. It will mean chaos if it is not stopped."

Aphrodite sat rigid, scared. "But... A," she was hesitant in her question. "Not my daughter?"

Apollo smiled, his eyes red from crying. "No, beauty queen. Not Piper."

Now Aphrodite was really confused. "But then... why call me here?"

Apollo turned serious. He stretched his fingers towards the flames, and an image began to take shape. At first just a shadow, but slowly, slowly coming into focus. "Because it's your fault, beauty queen. You're the one who messed with fate."

The shape came into full form, a demigod, doomed to die, smiling, unknowing. Aphrodite stared in horror. "No-"

"You've killed Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano."

Reyna's form stood in the fire, flickering, and then disappearing.

Normally, the death of a demigod wouldn't be that tragic or serious to Aphrodite. Maybe it was because she was in her daughter's form. Or maybe it was because she genuinely liked the girl. Reyna had been through a lot, and she deserved a long, happy life. For whatever reason, Aphrodite was shocked. She gaped at Apollo. "How did _I_... I never wanted to... when? How?"

Apollo stood, shaking his head sadly. "You should have left seeing the future to the Oracles, gorgeous. You crushed her hope, and now she can't be saved unless you fix the damage you caused."

Aphrodite thought back to when she had last seen Reyna in person. She gave a start. "The Battery?"

"You were dead wrong, Afro. You overlooked one detail. The one everyone always overlooked. He must be in Camp Jupiter before it is too late."

Thunder rumbled outside.

Terror gripped Apollo, his wings reappearing, shining brighter. "Hurry! Save her! You have to wake him up!"

And in a burst of golden fire, the Sun god was gone.

Aphrodite sat in silence for a while, thinking hard. Could this really be her fault? Was Apollo full of it? The Sun god might have been prone to tricks. That much was true. But there was one lesson you could learn looking back on ancient history, one absolute.

Delphi was never wrong.

Aphrodite was an immortal goddess. She wasn't supposed to worry herself with the lives of mortals. They lived, they died, the end. Yawn. But something new was filling Aphrodite. She felt an absence of apathy. Suddenly, she cared what happened to Reyna. Plenty of people called the goddess of love shallow, or inconsequential. Aphrodite was well aware of this. Maybe it was time she proved them wrong.

She would save Reyna Ramirez Arellano. She would fix her mistake. The questions was...

What was her mistake?

The goddess disintegrated into a violet mist that spiraled into nothing. Her essence flew to Mount Olympus, faster than sound.

And on the shores of the Adriatic, a house on the seashore crumbled into white sand. And a thunder cloud rolled on, scowling.


	2. Chapter 2

How better to describe Nico?

 **Chapter 2:** Child of Tragedy

Demigod dreams suck.

During times of war or conflict, or while on an important quest, the dreams of a demigod can foretell of things to come, or help a hero understand vital information. But when Gaea is finally dissipated, and the world saved?

Things get a little more... Personal.

Nico di Angelo was running. Surrounded by darkness, vaulting over and dodging around fragments of stone ruins as they loomed from the shadows. His quarry wasn't fast- whatever he was chasing was injured, and left an occasional spot of blood in its wake. But the son of Hades was not making much headway. He could feel his body trying to fade into shadow, becoming darkness permanently, and killing him. He was exhausted, his willpower all that was keeping him alive.

Nico ran on, caught up in desperation. He could here the labored breath, now. The limping footsteps, the gasps of pain. He was so close, he could almost see his target. He spun around a freestanding column of marble, and the darkness ahead fell back just enough that he could see her.

Nico let out a gasp. Her armor was practically falling off, her t-shirt and jeans ripped and bloody. She had an arrow in her leg, long and black with a red feathered shaft: the trademark of that dirtbag Orion. Her sword was clenched so hard in her hand that her knuckles were white. She turned and saw him standing there. There was a line of blood across her forehead, left by Bryce Lawrence's javelin. She had a look of utmost terror on her face.

"Reyna!"

She let out a pained cry and turned to run on. Nico watched in horror as her leg gave way and she collapsed against a pile of weathered stone. He rushed to her side. "Reyna, let me help. We have to get this arrow out..."

He reached forward to grasp her leg, but she jerked away, as if his touch burned. She turned to look at him and let out a desperate scream.

" _Stay away from me!"_

Nico woke with a start, clutching the covers of his bunk and sitting up fast. He was sweating, and breathing hard. The nearby window, though open, let in no light of morn. The sun had not yet risen. He worked to calm his breath, trying to think of something to comfort him, some memory, some...

And then he remembered what he had been dreaming of.

He fell backwards onto his pillow. Someone had decided that all of the bedclothes in the Hades cabin should be blood-red. The pillow case, the sheets, the covers, everything. Nico had been put out by the color choice at first, but he'd grown used to it over time. But having a dream about his friend bleeding from multiple wounds, and then waking up to this...

Nico needed some air.

He got out of bed and pulled off the black tank top and basketball shorts that served as pjs. He started dressing for the day, looking across the room at Hazel's empty bunk. A sad smile played across his face. During his sister's frequent visits to Camp Half-Blood, Hazel had often teased Nico about only owning black clothes when he lived at a _summer_ camp. She had begun to buy him clothes from the stores in New Rome before traveling to Long Island Sound. He opened the trunk under his bed and touched the purple cloth, before pulling on a pair of khaki shorts and a purple t-shirt. Emblazoned on the front of the shirt was a golden laurel crown, and on the back, a set of letters. SPQR. He studied himself in the mirror on the wall. Running a pale hand through his ebony hair, he laughed. "Well, Hazel," he said to himself, "how do I look?"

~~~~~}&{~~~~~

There's something incredible about near a hundred teenage warriors and heroes waking up and bringing life to a previously silent world. As Nico walked through camp, he heard the pounding of the forge, the clashing noise of the arena, the voices upon voices, and there was something... comforting, in the sound. He felt as though he were part of something bigger, rather than an outsider looking in. He was no longer ignored, but recognized.

Cecil from Hermes cabin was almost decapitated because he paused in a knife duel long enough to wave and call hello. Pollux and Butch whooped him a war-cry as they soared overhead on pegasi. Malcolm, Katie Gardener, and Jake Mason all looked up from a training exercise diagram long enough to yell his name. Drew Tanaka looked at him like he was roadkill, and Connor Stoll, perched on the roof of Cabin 10, winked at him and gave a two-fingered salute before dropping a wriggling green lizard on her head. As Drew's shrieks faded in the distance, Nico thought, chuckling to himself, that he truly belonged to a family. An imperfect one, maybe, but what family was perfect?

The morning sun warmed the grass as the smell of lunch began to waft from the kitchens. Nico's stomach made a rather undignified sound. He was tired. He had spent the first few hours before the rise of the sun on the obstacle course, and then the remainder of his time sparring with Jason. His swordplay was getting better, or so the son of Jupiter told him. Although, that really wasn't how Nico had felt when he'd been kicked to the dust for the fifth or sixth time that morning. Jason kept saying some junk about how ridiculously high Nico's reaction time was getting, but he didn't feel all that comforted. What was more, he had hoped that Jason would beat the memory of his dream painfully out of his head. But the dream was still there. It still hurt.

With a sigh, he started to make his way over to the archery range, to deal with some more personal demons.

~~~~~}&{~~~~~

Since 6:30 AM. That's how long Will Solace had been practicing. And it was almost lunchtime. And he still hadn't managed to hit the bulls-eye twenty times out of twenty. To an ordinary archer, it would seem that Will was striving for the impossible. But considering that the target wasn't even moving or shooting back, that was pretty dismal for a son of the archer god.

Will wearily readied his bow again. Archery came naturally to most of the children of Apollo, but Will was... special. What talent he had, he had worked for. He was better than some of the other campers, but compared to his siblings, Will was downright terrible. He practiced whenever he could, despite the embarrassment he felt. He hoped his efforts would not go unnoticed by his father.

Near-noon heat warmed the back of Will's neck as he prepared to shoot. He had just gone out and pulled all the arrows off of his now clear target. He would empty his quiver once more, and then head for lunch. The mere thought of deep-dish pepperoni made him weak, but it'd have to wait.

A deep breath. The fingers splayed, with an arrow between each pair. The shot. Three arrows at once. All three slammed into the target. Good news, but the shot had felt... odd. Considering Will Solace's hit average, he should not have worried about shooting more than one arrow at a time, but this was how Will let out his frustration. Three more arrows went to the bowstring. Drawn taut, the cord between his fingers creaking the wood of the recurve. The release. The blinding speed. The sound of three solid impacts.

There it was again! Something was off about the shot. Was was that feeling?

Will's lithe frame went into a contemplative posture as he studied the target. Six arrows, but the placement... It didn't look like Will was the one shooting. Experimentally, he drew again. Three arrows, a sharp release, and sure enough, the feeling that someone else was aiming for him. Will looked at where each shaft had hit the target. It almost looked like...

Will shot again and again and again, three at once, two at once, then one at a time in blinding succession. Each time, the heavy _thwck_ of an impact. He shot until his arms ached and his quiver was empty. He bent over, hands on his knees and breathing heavy. Glancing up to survey his target, he stood straight up in indignation.

He had hardly aimed beyond pointing at the target, and yet somehow, every one of his arrows was forming a larger pattern on the round surface. Two small circles for eyes, and a long curve of a smile. What the Zeus was...

Two slender hands wrapped around him from behind to cover his eyes. A soft voice laughed. "Guess who?"

Will sighed in exasperation, then all at once dropped his bow and whirled around. There was no escape for Lou Ellen as Will grabbed her tight. She let out a piercing laugh as he tickled her sides. "Lu, does you mother know you use your magic to interrupt poor, defenseless archers who are trying to practice?"

Lou Ellen gasped for breath, struggling just slightly under Will's hold. "I think mom approves when I use magic on my boyfriend."

"Your mom's not all that responsible, is she?"

"Nope."

"So _that's_ where you get it from."

She turned around in Will's arms so she could grab the front of his white tee. Her face leaned in close to his. "Well, it's not very responsible of you to tickl- AAAHAHASTOP!"

Will released her after another minute of torture, bending to pick up his bow as she punched him repeatedly in the arm, to little effect. She finally gave up, blowing a strand of long, light brown hair from her face. "You're insufferable."

"And you're a dork."

"The dork you kiss whenever you're alone with her?"

"Eh, touche."

Lou Ellen looked fondly at her handy-work. "Do you need to take that down before lunch?"

Walking to stand beside the sorceress, Will smiled at the smiley face. "Nah, let someone else admire it. Hungry?"

They turned to start walking to the pavilion. She grabbed his hand. "When am I not hungry?"

"That's an odd question, as you seem perpetually thinner than me, and you're dating the skinniest prawn that ever passed for a demigod."

Lou Ellen poked Will in the stomach. "Oh, stop, you're plenty strong. Besides, you don't need to worry about fighting. Some of the strongest fighters in camp would be six feet underground if you hadn't patched them up."

"That's maybe the first time anyone's ever managed to make my job seem manly."

"Didn't Chiron give you lecture on how important being a healer was?"

"Yeah, I wasn't really buying it."

As they drew closer to the dining pavilion, the lines around the serving table slightly alarmed Lou Ellen. "Well, if you wanna bulk up, Doc, you'd better hurry. The line's kinda long and _Holy Hecate_ I am STARVING."

It seemed to take an eternity, but teenagers have long been known to endure hellish trials in order to obtain baked greasy flatbread with melted cheese and spiced meat atop. After scraping part of their precious meal in the fire to thank the gods for not killing them all, (with Lou Ellen adding, _"and thank you for Chiron please never take him away he's the best ever!_ ) the two of them were able to park their rears on the heavenly luxury of an aluminum picnic table's bench.

The upside was, they got to sit together. As Percy, Nico, Pollux, Jason (who wasn't always around but he was still a bro), and a few others would have had to sit alone all the time if seating went by godly parent, Chiron had changed the rule a while ago, so that anyone could sit wherever at meals. Further reasoning for this rule-change was that twenty picnic tables really wouldn't have fit in the pavilion.

Will looked into the bottom of his empty chalice and muttered "Coke with vanilla," and the cup was instantly filled and bubbling. Lou Ellen's cup was psychedelic to look at, as she couldn't decide. "Um, Cherry Pepsi. No, Monster. Wait, no, Chiron says that's bad for you, uhhh... Just water? No that's so boring. Ugh, Gorgon's Blood- WHOA NO STOP it's an expression! I didn't know it could actually do that! Oh, suck it, just give me pomegranate juice." The cup came to rest on the dark, crimson hue, ending the light-show.

Will spoke around a mouthful of pizza. "Isn't that a little high in sugar for someone so hyperacti-"

"NO, not after all that, not second-guessing my choice."

Chuckling to himself, Will looked around. Sometimes Cecil would join them for lunch, but he was over there with Nyssa and Mark, and that wasn't the prob. Will stood on the bench with his knees, looking around over the heads of the chewing, chattering crowd. Nowhere to be seen...

"What'cha lookin' for, Will?"

Will sat down heavily. "It's a _who._ I can't see Nico anywhere. Sometimes he'll go sit by himself rather than sit with us, but he's always here. Why would he miss lunch?"

Lou Ellen didn't answer, but she had a sinking feeling that it was about time she talked with Will.

Suddenly, the pomegranate juice tasted a little bitter.


	3. Chapter 3

And, just because we don't have enough to worry about...

 **Chapter 3:** Post-War Conflict

You know Reyna's angry when her dogs are agitated.

You know she's downright dangerous when not even her dogs will risk being the same room as her.

Which was why, despite the countless dangers he had faced down, the numerous monstrosities he had slain, the horrors he had conquered, and his ability to turn into a hummingbird and shoot off if things got hairy, Frank Zhang was still nervous when he saw his partner's attack dogs waiting outside the Principalia. Aurum and Argentum were not guarding the door; they were sulking around, waiting for their master's mood to improve. And when you're a greyhound made of solid metal and built for war, it takes a lot to rattle your gears.

Frank went inside.

Her black hair curtained down as she leaned over the map, slashing it viciously with her dagger. She didn't look up from her important task when Frank closed the door behind him. He walked to the desk. Risking losing a finger, he snatched a green jelly bean from the glass bowl and sat on the edge of the unfortunate table. "Reyna."

She looked up, her eyes wild. The fire slowly died. "Oh. Hail, Frank. What's going on?"

Frank selected a second jelly bean. Blue. "Eagles just got back. You were right. Spot on, actually. We know where they're keeping him, now."

Reyna nodded, studying what was left of the map. She looked up. "Well?"

Frank glanced up. "Well what?"

Reyna grinned. She loved working with Frank. He was deadly, skilled, and yet he had a sweet innocence that shown through on occasion. She had been working with him for long enough to read him well enough. "I can hear a, 'there's one little problem,' in your voice. Well, out with it."

Frank walked to the doors, letting Aurum and Argentum back into the room. They padded quickly to Reyna, looking up at her with big ruby eyes. Seeing she had calmed down, they're aluminum tongues began to wag happily, and they settled on either side of the desk. Frank strode back, bracing for the reaction.

"The scouting party was spotted. They know we'll be coming, now. They do have confirmation that he's still alive, though. And we know now that they won't pick up and move camp. Problem is, without the element of surprise, we can't send in a force large enough to take them. They'll be watching for us, with a knife at his neck, most likely."

Reyna stabbed her golden dagger back into the poor, beaten desk. Eric was a new recruit. He had been put on sentry duty because new kids got worst assignments, but no one had planned on his capture. Monsters didn't generally use this kind of negotiation to get what they wanted. But Dracanea were clever. And fast. Eric didn't deserve this. Reyna had met the kid. He was hard-working. And loyal. But he was also new. Had Reyna been the one captured, her men would have sat back and waited for her to slaughter her captors and get back unscathed. But this was different. His life was really in danger. And that made Reyna mad.

She sighed. "Frank, power is relative. We couldn't get enough fresh recruits up there to get him back, but it'd be easier to send in a smaller group of seasoned troops."

Frank nodded. "And even easier to send in a crack team of the best."

Reyna pulled her knife from the desk, putting it back in her sheath. "Now you're getting it. But you can go even further. As opposed to multiple of the best, we're going to send _the_ Best."

Frank actually thought she meant Percy. Until he saw the gleam in Reyna's eyes. "Oh no you don't, you're not-"

"It makes the most sense, Frank." Reyna went to the far wall, pulling her sword belt, (with said implement attached,) from it's hooks. "Besides, I haven't had any fun in _ages._ I'll take an eagle to the base of Mount Tam tonight, they won't know what hit them."

"You're the Praetor! You can't just go solo and start killing things!"

Reyna strapped on her sword belt and started loading javelins into a case that went on her back. "Frank, it's _because_ I'm Praetor that I get to do that. I have the authority. Now, of course, you'll have to stay here. Can't have both Praetors gone, and I don't think Hazel would approve of you and I leaving for a quiet night of monster slaying. She might be a _titch_ peeved, and we don't want to get beaned by flying gold bars."

Frank might have laughed if he wasn't so worried. "It's irresponsible to let you go alone! You could take Annabeth with you! Or Percy!"

Reyna winced. That boy was still a bit of a sore subject...

Frank realized his mistake. "Well, those two are on leave in the city, so maybe not. But you could go with Mike Kahale. Or Jeremy. Or Cristian! Someone! Do you just not want to go alone with a boy? You could go with Michelle or... Who's that one girl from Cohort 2? The one with the hatchet? You know who I'm talking about. Or Sydney! Now, see, she's one of the very best we've got, and she's been wanting to go out for a while. I bet she would be-"

"FRANK!"

Frank stopped talking.

"Thank you. No, I'm not taking Syd, or Annabeth, though that would be fun, and NO, this is NOT a boy thing. I just need..." She paused for a minute. "Some alone-time."

Frank looked like a spasmatic automaton, all Valdez'd and ready to blow. "Alone time is when you take a walk on temple hill! Or go sit on the veranda alone! Or get cocoa and stroll through the gardens of Bacchus! It's not an attack mission to free a hostage!"

Reyna smiled. "It is when you're me."


	4. Chapter 4

We had to see them eventually...

 **Chapter 4:** The Dove and the Snake

To all the lovely ladies reading right now, some advice; for your own safety, don't ever hit on Jason Grace. I know he's good-looking, (he's far better looking then me,) but believe me when I say, the price of a date with the Son of Jupiter is more than you want to pay. Namely, his warlike girlfriend will load you into a catapult and shoot you so high, the wind gods will have to send Olympus a memo regarding an Unidentified Screaming Object. So unless you want to end up like that prat Octavian, I suggest you go ogle some other hunk.

However, that evening after dinner, Piper McLean was not thinking about her boyfriend, but rather, her boyfriend's best friend. The catapult that Piper was fixing sat on the coast, pointing out to the ocean. Progress on the repair was slow, as the girl would periodically stare out into the golden sunset, reminiscing, and imagining that she saw bronze wings on the horizon...

She turned back to her work, singing under her breath. _"When you fall asleep, with your head upon my shoulder... When you're in my arms, but you've gone somewhere deeper..."_

Unbeknownst to Piper, someone, just coming back from dinner, was crouched behind the catapult's great wheel, listening in secret. The song continued.

" _Are you going to age with Grace? Are you going to leave a path to trace? Are you going to age with Grace..."_

The hidden figure smiled at the sound of his own name.

" _Or will you awake and hide your face?"_

Piper's voice was like magic. (Not really magic, even though she could do that.) It was clear and melodic and bright. In his seat on the grass, Jason sank a little bit, relaxed and soothed by the sound.

" _When O-o-oblivion, is ca-a-alling out your name, you always take it further, than I-I-I ever can..."_

The voice quieted and died. Jason peeked up and saw Piper staring out at the sunset again, looking sad and lonely. He wanted to do something for her. Luckily, he knew the second verse. Rising from behind the catapult's frame, the baritone took up the song as he walked around to his girlfriend.

" _When you play it hard, and I try to follow you there, it's not about contro-ol, but I turn back, when I see where you go."_

The eagle feather nearly flew out of Piper's braid as she whirled around with a broad smile on her face. Before she could stand, Jason sank to the grass beside her and held her close to him. He chuckled. "Well, my dear? Are you going to age with Grace?"

"Not sure yet." she said, leaning backwards into his chest and closing her eyes. "Are you going to ask me?"

"Don't you think I'm a little young to be proposing marriage, Pipes?"

"Shush, Lightning Rod. Just sing me something."

Jason, a little surprised at her request, thought for a minute, then began a song that Piper had never heard before.

" _How do you catch a falling star? How do you fix a broken hea-art? How can we go back to rewrite this from the start? Back when our world glowed from just a spark?"_

Jason had not been a great singer, but singing with Piper was something he enjoyed, so he had been practicing on and off. He was not so comfortable singing a solo, though. He took a breath and continued, feeling Piper shift a little against him.

" _Stuck inside this atmosphere, watching my light just disappear, o-oh, and all the things that I'd forgotten while you were here, now I remember them all, so clear."_

Piper had felt Jason's heartbeat accelerate slightly when she had asked him to sing. He had nothing to worry about. His voice was rich and warm as sunlight. Inwardly, she smiled broadly. "I'll have to keep this a secret, or Drew will be all over him again."

Jason was not privy to her thoughts of mirth and continued to the chorus. _"Just give me one more time. I'll swim through the high tide, I'll stand on the frontlines, I'll give. It. All. Just to see your face! And tell you it's alright... To hold you for one night..."_ His arms tightened around her midriff, and Piper shivered, even though she was warm. _"Just give me one more time."_

The pair said nothing for a long while, looking out at the sun, sinking lower into the water, as it's golden rays shot across an orange sky and the pulsing ocean. Jason smiled at the thought of his oceanic pal. He let the silence grow from lengthy to borderline awkward, before skillfully breaking it. "I wonder how Fishbreath and Wise Girl are. Annabeth IM'ed you lately?"

Piper, transported by the music and the silence, was in another place. She had to process for a bit. "Wha?... Oh, no... no, I haven't gotten any Iris Messages for a while."

Jason knew that faraway voice well. He smiled knowingly as his hands went into his girlfriend's hair. "I've been missing him, too."

Piper shouldn't have been so surprised, but she still shook her head at the uncanny way Jason could tell what she was thinking. She went still again so Jason could keep stroking her hair, and suddenly she smiled. "Remember when he went missing, and we were all freaking out about it for the longest time, and then after all the worrying we find him sitting on a balcony sipping coffee? Wearing the same clothes he'd had when we'd met him? And he didn't jump out of his chair and tackle-hug you. He just sat there, looking at us like "sup", as if he'd been just left for a few minutes to use the bathroom or something."

Jason laughed. "Those same clothes he'd been wearing when Butch almost chucked him off a flying chariot?"

"I'd forgotten about that! Ha, I remember the look on your face in Boreas's palace, when he pushed a button and turned Festus into a suitcase."

"It was just the way he was so nonchalant about it! Just all, 'Excuse me, airport security, can I take this as carry-on, or should I get it checked?'. I just about fainted."

Piper's laugh shuddered out of her as Jason ran the very tips of his fingernails along the top of her head. She waited until she was a little calmer before speaking. "I wonder when we'll see him again."

"Soon." Jason said without hesitation. He looked down at her puzzled face and grinned. "Very soon."

"How do you know? Did he IM you? Did you have a dream? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Calm down, Pipes!" He laughed, as she stood indignantly to look down at him. He shifted over to a seat beside the catapult. "No, no sign. Believe me, when I get an Iris message or dream in the middle of the night telling me how he's doing, I won't just tell you when you wake up. I'll burst into your cabin while you're sleeping, kiss you very long and hard, and then wake up the entire camp, including Chiron, and then I'll Iris Message Hazel and Frank and Percy and Annabeth and Reyna and Hylla and Thalia, and then I'm going to throw a party Mr. D would be proud of, and then... Actually, in all honesty, then I'll probably kiss you more. A lot more."

Piper laughed as Jason went on, blushing slightly towards the end. "How do you know he's coming soon, then?"

"Just a feeling." He said, sitting up with his back against the catapult. "I wouldn't worry. He's Commander Toolbelt, and wherever he is, he's got his pet death machine. As long as Leo and Festus are together, they'll be fine."

Piper nodded, looking out to the sunset. It was getting lower. The view was stunning, but Jason kept getting distracted. The girl standing next to him was so beautiful, he still had trouble believing it some days. The thought that he was hers... and she was his. Piper turned and caught him staring, and smiled. Jason looked away, embarrassed. He suddenly recognized the fading light for what it meant. "Chiron said a campfire at dark, so we might need to-"

"We've still got some time." Piper gave Jason a sideways glance, then turned and walked to him. "Don't talk to the daughter of Aphrodite about kissing her long and hard and expect to get off easy."

She knelt facing him, straddling his outstretched legs. Jason wanted to protest that someone might see them, but they were behind the catapult. Not to mention that the hottest girl he'd ever seen was breathing in his ear, and he could feel her chest and hips pressing against him. He wasn't really inclined to protest. "You are _so_ asking for it."

His fingernails ran up her back, making her seize up just slightly. He pulled her closer as her hands ran through his short blond hair. His lips brushed a faint path up the copper tone of her neckline, before coming to stop over her mouth. Piper moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck as Jason's tongue wrestled with hers.

The two of them were a little late to the campfire that night.

~~}Ω{~~

To Rachel Elizabeth Dare, it seemed as though everyone wanted her to leave her favorite place on earth. And she was not happy about it.

Ever since the gift of prophecy had been blocked during the War with Gaea, (Rachel had her own suspicions as to what had happened,) Rachel hadn't just stopped spewing green smoke, but had also stopped having future-telling dreams, and it pained her to feel as though she was just a regular mortal again. Her natural talent to see through the mist was unaltered, but other than that she just a normal girl. This feeling of disconnect to the world she loved was compounded by the not-so-helpful efforts of some of her friends at Camp.

To many of the demigods at Camp Half-Blood, the smart choice for Rachel would be to move back to the city, or go home to her parents, and hope that her powers never returned. They didn't understand how anyone not cursed with the life of a demigod could possibly wish for such an existence. Time and time again people had questioned her desire to get out of prep school and stay at Camp year round. They didn't understand what it was like to have been searching answers for so long, and to have found so much more than she had expected to find. It went beyond her love for her friends in both camps. To just pretend that magic wasn't a part of her, that she didn't belong to this world of monsters and myths and gods... She loved this life. Why couldn't they see that? Why couldn't _he_ see that?

Pulling on her pajamas, Rachel climbed into bed. Her room, (well, cave, really), full of art supplies, easels, half-finished paintings, and open CD cases, faded from view as the soft bronze light of the wall lamps dimmed and disappeared. The stream just outside Rachel's cave sang a quiet song that she could sleep by. Slowly, the eyes of the oracle closed.

She had no idea how restless of a night this would be.

~~}Ω{~~

As Camp Half-Blood slept, Nico tossed and turned. Today had been hard. Showing up to the archery range right in time to watch Lou Ellen and Will leaving for lunch. It had been too much. He'd headed to the Stadium to talk to Mrs. O'Leary. The big dog always made him feel better. When Will, Cecil, and Lou Ellen had come looking for him later, Juniper had helped him hide in the woods. She was always kind to Nico when he went walking by himself. He'd had a long time to think before dinner.

It hadn't been a secret from him. He'd known how Lou and Will felt, and watched them grow closer. But he was having and hard time giving up on the kind healer. His best friend.

He punched his scarlet pillow angrily. Will didn't feel the same way he did. He could never see Nico as... _"Oh, Hera, I am HOPELESS."_

Thank the gods Will had no idea how Nico felt.

~~}Ω{~~

Nico shouldn't have thanked the gods at all. Because Will knew.

He just couldn't believe it.

As the day had progressed, what with Nico gone at lunch, missing the rest of the day, and then ignoring his friends at dinner and going to bed early before the campfire, Will had grown steadily more worried. Eventually, Lou Ellen had told Cecil to go play night volleyball while she talked to Will alone. Assuming the two wanted to go make out in some dark corner of camp, he'd made a disgusted face and left.

But Lou hadn't wanted to kiss.

Sitting on the edge of his bunk, Will supposed he'd been a little out of line. But the argument that had broken out had been just as much Lou's fault as Will's. It was still ridiculous. That Nico _liked_ him. Ugh.

Much as Will wanted to deny it, though, he couldn't help but look back on his friend's past behavior. Had there been subtle hints that Will had ignored? Could Lou be right?

He flung himself atop his sheets in surrender. He couldn't think about it now. He didn't _want_ to think about it now.

He would never get the sleep he craved.

~~}Ω{~~

As Chiron watched from the window of the Big House, violet streaks of light soared through the air above camp. Like rouge Aurora Borealis, they streaked down into different cabins around camp. Aphrodite. Hades. Apollo. Hecate. Hypnos. The Oracle's cave.

Chiron closed the blinds. Whatever was going to happen tonight, he didn't want to hear about it before the morning after.

 _ **A/N: The next chapter will concern dreams. The songs used are Oblivion by Bastille and One More Time by 7Lions. In case you're still confused, the Chapter name refers to Piper, (the Dove,) and Rachel, (the Snake,). Until next time. -Hart**_


	5. Chapter 5

Well, now we know why he's always asleep...

 **Chapter 5:** Clovis goes channel surfing

You know how you turn on the TV and just keep hitting the UP button on channel, waiting for something interesting to flash on the screen? And you're seeing each channel for a split second thinking, _"...Ad...Home Repair...Gardening...Ad...Cop show...Home Repair...Ad...Infomercial...Cooking Show...Ad..."_ and then you glance up and the channel thing says 239 and you started at channel 15 and you go "Crap, is there NOTHING on?"

Clovis was feeling like that.

Here were more than 100 demigods laying unconscious in their bunks, and it seemed not one of them was dreaming about something interesting.

Now, ordinarily, Clovis had a way to amuse himself if there was nothing good on. There were plenty of people in Camp who were less than kind to Clovis, and nothing was more fun than watching them dream about something embarrassing, or having a nightmare about something dumb, like that rabbit from Monty Python and The Holy Grail, and then spreading it around the next day. Yes, Clovis was a menace. And it felt really good.

But even though Mark from Ares Cabin was riding a unicycle across a tightrope above a pit of spikes in nothing but his underwear, the Son of Hypnos just didn't feel like revenge. And there was nothing good on. Usually one, if not both, of the Stoll brothers would be doing something hilarious, but they were _both_ dreaming about snowboarding down a mountain of ice cream. And in their dream, there were a lot of people cheering for them. All the noise gave Clovis a headache. So he switched off the Stoll brothers and wandered around looking for _anything_ to distract him. Sleeping could be so boring.

-Ω-

Will Solace was dreaming of his best friend. Nico was training by the banks of the River Styx, dueling with the shades of a Roman gladiator and a Napoleonic officer. Time and time again they came at him, the Stygian Iron blade intercepting each stroke.

Nico looked to be 12, at the most. His now well-fitting aviator's jacket was huge on him, rolled up at the sleeves. He looked tired and frustrated, fighting with vicious skill. Off to the side, the ghost of an old king looked on, smiling. He watched the boy with a hungry look in his eye. He spat out, "Faster!", and the emotionless shades attacked with greater intensity. Nico looked ready to snap. Tracking the trident and net of the gladiator, and the saber of the officer, he was forced down the banks of the Styx. He breath was labored. His hair hung in sweaty curtains over his eyes.

Finally, something within Nico seemed to break. Using the hilt of his sword, he slid the shaft of the gladiator's trident into the rib cage of the second shade, and then swept the gladiators head off in one blow. The helmeted skull flew with a _'plop'_ into the black waters of the river beside them. Nico dropped to his knees and slashed the Officer in the legs, toppling him. The Son of Hades stood, looking at the grinning king, before stabbing his blade through the head of the prostrate shade.

Will stood, invisible, on the opposite side of the river. He watched Nico sink down to gaze into the waters of Misery. Whatever he spoke about with Minos, Will could not hear. He wanted to move closer, but his dream-self could not seem to cross the Styx.

Suddenly, he was aware of someone behind him. Turning, he found a hunched form in a brown robe walking slowly towards him. Was this another one of Nico's shades? The hood of the robe came back and underneath was-

OK, this was creepy.

Firstly, it could see him. Which meant it wasn't in the underworld, it was in Will's dream. It looked him right in the eyes and smiled.

And it looked just like Lou Ellen.

"Lou, why are you here? How-"

The questions died in Will's mouth. This was not his girlfriend. This person had had bright pink irises, so bright their eyes nearly glowed. They looked at Nico, and the stranger shook her head sadly.

"Nico had a tough childhood. And that's putting it lightly. A mother stolen by Zeus, a Father who froze him in time, and his beloved sister, his anchor, taken from him. Like a trireme with no mooring, he was set adrift. After he ran from Camp Half-Blood, he lived for many months in the Underworld, and in the Labyrinth. Neither of those places are good for one's sanity. Nico is a strong boy, but the experience still affected him. How could it not? And the person he obsessed over all that time, the one he hated for taking his sister... Well, eventually, the trauma transformed that hatred into a different kind of obsession over Percy Jackson. Especially after he found peace in Bianca's self-sacrifice. There is much darkness inside Nico's heart, and that darkness daily threatens to consume him. A while ago, he met someone who could have purged the darkness from him. But... she didn't. And that was my fault."

The girl who looked like Lou turned to Will. She laid a finger on his chest.

"Child of the Sun, is your light strong enough? Can you do this? For your brother? For your friend?"

-Ω-

Rachel was in the dark. Both in that she had no idea what was going on, and that she couldn't see and inch in front of her face.

Dreams like this were usually annoying, but to Rachel this was exciting. Dreams like this had stopped when her gift of prophecy had been blocked. Maybe her power was back. Maybe something had happened in Delphi.

Something was moving in the darkness. A sound like paper over stone, magnified a thousand times. The sound of a giant snake.

A voice whispered out of the pitch black. _"Something has happened. The Serpent has returned."_

Rachel strained to control her dream, to force a light, a flame, something, into existence. The darkness remained.

" _Something has disturbed Fate. This night, across a nation, someone will die who must not die. Rome will fall, the fault will lie with Greece, and the peace between them will burn like a dry reed. This must. Not. Happen. Look to the Dove. Take the last of my power."_

Rachel felt something warm blossom within her, and a rush of cold air, as if a door had been opened to the outside. Light filled her vision.

And then she toppled off the bed.

-Ω-

Piper was a little confused.

Because of her and Jason's rendezvous by the catapult, they had forgone their usual escapade. Jason didn't want Piper to get caught, and he'd, (reluctantly,) deemed it too risky that night.

But despite this, Piper somehow found herself on Jason's roof anyway.

The stars were shining unusually bright, and there was no sign of the curfew harpies. The whole camp was silent. Piper looked around. Something was wrong. Where was Jason? How had she gotten up on the roof?

"No, my dear, it's just a dream."

Piper turned at the familiar voice. Her mother was smiling at her, in the same clothes Piper had been given at her claiming. The white sleeveless dress, the golden bands, her hair done up just the Piper's had been. The goddess looked around the roof with twinkling eyes. "Really, my dear, this place is so romantic. I'm very happy for you."

Piper blushed. "Mom, what are you doing in my dreams? I'm trying to sleep."

Aphrodite sighed, fiddling with a lock of her color-changing hair and looking sheepish. "Sweet, you've had campers come to you for relationship advice, haven't you?"

Piper was a little off-balanced by the question. She nodded. "Yeah, a lot, actually."

"But you don't really enjoy it, do you dear?"

"Well, no, I just... I try my best, but if things don't work out, I wouldn't want anyone to blame me. I usually just tell people to be themselves and to not be so shy."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Would that I were as wise as you..."

"What?"

"Dear, do you remember what Reyna told you a few months ago?"

Piper was filled with anger. "Yeah, and you know what, mom, I've been meaning to ask you... Where do you get off, doing things like that? You just casually crush someone's hope and make them second-guess everything..."

"I was wrong."

Piper blinked. A couple times. "What did you say?"

"Must you make me repeat myself? I was wrong! I..."

Aphrodite looked at her shoes as though she were ashamed. "I was shallow, and stereotypical. Drew is your sister, Piper, but she inherited some of my... not as redeeming qualities. You got all the best."

"Mom, what did you do?"

Aphrodite sighed again, as if this topic of discussions were really wearing her out. " _No demigod shall heal your heart._ That's what I said. I looked to Reyna's future, and I saw either Reyna and Percy, or Reyna and Jason. I had seen Annabeth go through enough heartbreak, and I wasn't about to let Reyna take Jason. And there didn't seem to be anyone else."

"You just love playing matchmaker, don't'cha, mum?

Aphrodite ignored the comment. "But I was wrong and I need your help."

Piper sighed. Cleaning up after mom. "What do I need to do?"

Aphrodite began to disappear into the starry sky as a cloud of rose petals. "Because I discouraged her, Reyna gave up on the Third son of the Big Three. The one everyone overlooks."

Piper's eyes went wide. So did her smile. "Wait, you mean Reyna and N-"

And then everything went pink.

Classic Aphrodite.

-Ω-

Lou Ellen was walking through the woods. She did this often enough, but there were two differences now. Lou was asleep. And she was alone.

It felt odd, even in a dream, to be walking without Will. But she didn't want to see him. Boys could be so blind. Why didn't he ever listen? How could he have not noticed the way Nico acted? The way he looked at Will?

The sorceress kicked a rock and watched sail through the moonlight before disappearing in a shadow. The woods were beautiful at night. Some people liked the way the Sun felt on their skin. Lou could feel the cool light of the moon, soothing her anger. She tried to think of things other than Will. The way the aspen trees danced and swayed in the slightest wind, the far away monsters howling, the shadow moving just to her left...

Lou whipped around and stared hard. She knew she'd seen something. She sensed movement behind her and whirled again. Nothing. Not a thing.

A voice echoed through the trees around her. _"Don't be angry with Will, my sweet."_

A woman's voice... an empousa? Dracanae? Lou Ellen moved into the shadow of a thick tree, trying to find the source of the sound.

" _Will wants what is best for Nico. But he loves you. That hasn't changed. All couples fight. It's one of the things they do best. He's accepted the truth. Now all he needs is your forgiveness. Wake up now. Will needs you, if he is to help Nico."_

The forest floor turned to black water, and Lou fell in, sinking down, down, and out of the dream.

-Ω-

Clovis was freaking out. Things had gone from 0 to 60 in about 1 second. Aphrodite seemed to be everywhere. She was talking to Piper, to Will, to Rachel, and to Hecate's counselor, what was her name? And she was heavy in Hades cabin. Clovis couldn't get into Nico's dream because something pink and sweet-smelling kept pushing him back. Suddenly, a voice sounded in his head. Great. She'd caught him eavesdropping.

" _I'm not mad, Clovis. Now you see all the pieces of this puzzle. You must assemble them. Bring the four to Nico, and Rachel will know what to do. Now, I know you don't like to, but for me... WAKE UP!"_

-Ω-

5 demigods around Camp Half-Blood awoke simultaneously. Piper shook her head, still grinning. Rachel fell out of bed and bonked her skull on the floor. And Nico diAngelo slept on.

Aphrodite wasn't quite done with him.

 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading this far. Chap 6 might be a little long in coming, as I'm working on my Gravity Falls fic right now, and my writing style takes time. If you like the way I write, go check out**_ _ **A New Northwest Mystery**_ _ **. Nico's dream, Oracle weirdness, and more coming ASAP. As always my friends, stay sharp. -Hart**_ __


	6. Chapter 6

Fasten your seat-belts…

 **Chapter 6:** Zero to Sixty

It was raining. It was raining _hard._ Nico couldn't see the ground, he was so high up. There were stormclouds beneath and above him, rain everywhere. Bolts of lightning ruffled the boy's long dark hair as they shot by. The noise was deafening. There seemed to be no silence between one burst of thunder and the next.

The sheer power all around Nico was epic and frightening. The wind blew in every direction, as if Aeolus had let his four best go at each other with reckless abandon. Nico was thrown through the air, struggling to control his movement. He wasn't flying, but he wasn't falling, either. He tried to escape the storm, but he could barely keep himself pointed the right way.

Suddenly, Nico heard an impossible sound. Birdsong. There was no way a songbird could survive at this altitude, let alone in this storm, but through the chaos and the terror came a pure white dove, singing so sweetly that, despite the downpour, Nico calmed down. The dove seemed oblivious to the storm itself. Every wind buoyed it up, the rain water seemed to make it stronger, no lightning ever shot even close to it.

As Nico watched, three ragged brown vultures trailing smoke pursued the dove, until a blade of wind slammed all three of them together, and a single bolt of white light disintegrated the unfortunate predators. The dove flew on, past Nico, into the heart of the storm. For a split second, Nico heard, over the wind and the thunder and the fading song, the cry of an eagle in flight.

The boy fell a thousand feet, and landed in the ocean.

-Ω-

Rachel threw on a "Let's Van Gogh!" t-shirt and a pair of paint-spattered denim shorts. This was good. This dream was very good. And it was a little but crazy and confusing, but she knew how to rectify that.

Red curls bounced up and down as Rachel jogged through camp barefoot. At night. Alone. Holy Hera, she was so dead if someone caught her. She came to Demeter's cabin and hid behind a potted Russian Olive, waiting for a patrol harpy to budge up and keep waddling on patrol. When the fat chicken lady was out of sight, Rachel dashed to the end of the arc of buildings, her pale feet a blur on the grass.

As she came to the door of Hypnos' Cabin, she paused. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. Chiron would never punish Rachel for coming to him about something important, but this dream had felt odd. Different. And Delphi's power was supposed to be blocked. She wanted to be sure it hadn't been an ordinary dream. And there was only one person for the job.

She reached for the doorknob, and suddenly jumped back as the door was flung open from the other side.

Rachel had seen plenty of weird and strange stuff in her life, but this had to top the list. Clovis was awake. In the middle of the night. And he had combed his tree-bark brown hair, dressed in camp attire, tied his shoes correctly, and from the smell of his labored breathing, had _brushed his teeth._

Rachel almost didn't recognize him.

She went to speak, but Clovis, in a hushed whisper, beat her to it. "One sec." He stepped outside, closed the door behind him, and turned in a low tone. "Ok, good, you're here, that's convenient, although it's to be expected, you did wake up first…"

"Clovis! What's going on? I don't even-"

"Shh! Not so loud! Half a mo, let me think… Okay, yeah, so, get the rest, then… Right. Rachel, go and get Piper McLean, and the Hecate Counselor, what's her name? Melon? Helen?"

"Lou Ellen? Why? Look, I had a dream that-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I saw, the dark cave, Delphi's power, Aphrodite's message, wait… didn't she tell you what to do?"

"No! It didn't make any sense! And _what_ about Aphrodite? What does she have to do wi-" Rachel stopped cold, looking at Clovis incredulously. "You… _saw…_ my dream?"

Clovis returned her look. "I can see everyone's dreams when I sleep. Read their thoughts, too, if I try hard enough."

"You can what now?"

Clovis' stare became penetrating. His deep brown eyes seemed to fill with a purple mist, swirling with every shade of blue and yellow. He smiled just slightly. "You'd be surprised what I can do, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Now. Piper McLean. Lou Ellen. Meet me in front of Hades' Cabin, and don't. Get. Caught. We don't have time to explain to anyone. Time is of the essence."

And all of a sudden, Clovis had a knife. Rachel stared as Clovis tested the edge of a slim, silver stiletto, six inches long in the blade, double-edged, with tiny Greek letters etched into the metal.

Clovis saw Rachel's eyes pop and smiled even more. "There's a prayer to Hypnos carved into the knife. I need to go cut a rod from the poplar tree out back, then fetch Will Solace."

Clovis quickly put away the knife before dragging Rachel into the long reeds that grew all around Hypnos' cabin. Two satyrs, part of the night patrol, walked by with flashlights. As they moved on, Clovis leaned into Rachel's ear and whispered. "Go, my friend. Quickly now."

Lying down, Rachel began to turn in the reeds. She wanted to see the colors in those eyes again. But when she looked, he was gone. Nothing but a low wind in the reeds that seemed to whisper. _My friend. My friend. My friend._

-Ω-

Nico could swim. Kind of. He didn't spend much time in the water, but he'd swam in the canoe lake before. Lots of times. But swimming through the middle of a hurricane was not in his skill set.

It was all he could do to keep his head out of the water. Walls of water slammed into him again and again, forcing him to fight his way back to the surface for a precious lungful of salty air. The sky was dark with gray storm, and it was impossible to know if it was night or day.

Nico looked up in desperation, trying to think of what he could possibly say to Poseidon that would warrant rescue, when he saw something really ridiculous.

There were an awful lot of birds flying through this storm. A huge gray owl was winging over Nico's head, looking at him with bright eyes. It folded its wings and dove, plunging into the water. Nico found himself being pulled under with the owl. Taking a breath, he sank into the swirling blue waves. He opened his eyes and found he could see just fine under water.

And there was that owl. The creature moved through the water as if it was flying through the sky. It darted about, with lazy flaps that sent it shooting through the sea. As Nico watched it swim, the color of the water around him changed. From a steel-blue to a lighter blue, to a brilliant blue green.

When Nico resurfaced for air, the sky was clear. The storm was gone. The sun was high, and the water flat in every direction. The owl came bursting out of the azure plain, spinning as the seawater came spiraling from its light gray feathers. It turned to fly into the horizon.

The sun abruptly began to fall out of the sky, from noon to an instant sunset in an instant. The Son of Hades was swallowed in darkness.

-Ω-

Clovis was having way too much fun. The poplar rod in his hand wasn't helping matters. He'd stripped the stout stick of branches or leaves. Whenever he came across a volunteer satyr or patrol harpy, he'd move through the shadows beside them, strike them in the small of their back with the rod and mutter a word in Ancient Greek. The goat boy or chicken lady would collapse right where they were, lost in a dreamless sleep.

He had reached Apollo's cabin. Moving to a window, the boy peered inside. He reached out with his mind, and he could sense sleep in all of the campers inside. All but one…

Jogging to the golden door, Clovis opened it silently and stepped into the dark cabin. The sight of all those sleeping youth unnerved Clovis. He didn't want anyone to wake up. Going down on one knee, he pounded the poplar staff on the ground. A wave of magic washed over the room, putting restless and light sleepers into deep REMs.

Suddenly, Clovis realized his mistake. Will. The healer had been sitting awake on the side of his bunk, but he was starting to topple over. Unaffected by his own magic, Clovis strode to Will's side, grabbed him under his arm, and fairly dragged him to the door.

Back outside, Will, sitting with his hands between his knees, began to awake from the veil of the spell. A lone satyr on patrol spotted the two campers from across the green. "Hey! You two! Don't move!"

"If he whispers any louder, he'll wake up the camp." Clovis grumbled. He waited for the satyr to reach the front of Cabin 10. "C'mon, Will. We've gotta go."

The satyr was enjoying this. "Well, you two are in for it now. You're lucky I'm not a harpy, or you'd be dinner. Who said you could be out after dark?"

Clovis hefted his stick. "The goddess of love." Swinging at the confused satyr, he smacked him right between the horns.

The next day, his satyr friends would still be trying to wake him up.

-Ω-

Nico was underground. Which would have comforted him, were it not for the grizzly bear.

The thing had been chasing him since he'd found himself in this underground maze. The tunnels were twisted and confusing, like the Labyrinth, but no death traps. Just dirt walls and the bear. At least, it was mostly a bear.

When Nico had come to a fork in the tunnel, he'd chosen the more claustrophobic route, in the hope that the bear would get stuck. And it had been stuck. For about 5 seconds. Then it'd morphed into a slim leopard and come barreling down the shaft like a wall of animal death.

Now Nico looked over his shoulder and saw the bear was changing a second time. If it chose leopard again, it would run him down and kill him. Nico looked ahead to see if the end was in sight. Nothing but tunnel.

 _Please not leopard, please not leopard, not a tiger or a panther, no cats, please, not leopard..._

It didn't choose leopard.

The ivory tusk swept Nico's legs out from him as the thick gray trunk grabbed him by one leg and chucked him farther down the tunnel. Nico tumbled head over legs over aching head. As he came to a stop, he tried to prepare himself for hand-to-hand with an elephant. Dazed, he looked behind him.

As Nico had flown down the tunnel, something had fallen out of his pocket. It laid in the path of the beast, now a bear again. It scooped it gently into one paw and sat back on his haunches, staring at it.

It hadn't wanted Nico. It had wanted the jewel in his pocket. A ruby the color of blood, glinting in the darkness of the tunnel. The bear held it close to him as the jewel glowed brighter. The tunnel collapsed all around the Son of Hades, just as he began to understand.

-Ω-

Piper was running out of drachmas. She'd tried over and over again to send a simple Iris Message, but nothing was working. She'd messaged Annabeth just to make sure her connection was working, and then tried again. Nothing. What was going on?

Sighing, she turned of the spray gun and the flashlight, moving to leave Cabin 9's one bathroom.

There was a freckly, curly-haired ginger on the other side of the door. "Little late for powdering your nose, isn't it?"

Piper blinked. "R-Rachel? What are you-"

The Oracle held a finger to her lips, using a finger to motion _'Follow me.'_

Piper followed Rachel past the rows of her sleeping siblings and out of the cabin. Waiting just outside was a familiar looking sorceress.

"Hey Pipes! Hold still real quick, 'kay? I need to layer you in Mist."

Lou Ellen touched the middle finger of her left hand to the ring finger of her right hand, then vice versa. Black mist curled around her hands, and then flew to Piper, wreathing her in a darkness that quickly disappeared. Lou Ellen blew black smoke off of a finger gun. "That's how it's done, fools."

Piper sized up the trio. "So, Rachel, girls' night out?"

"Well, not exactly. We're meeting the boys soon." Rachel blushed when she saw the way Piper's eyebrows went up. "Not like that! Clovis and Will are waiting for us at Hades' cabin. We all had dreams from your mom, and now we need to help Nico."

Piper smiled. "Will and Clovis, huh? Can I bring Jason if you two are bringing your boyfriends?"

To her surprise, Rachel blushed even deeper at this. "Clovis isn't- I don't- you know what? I don't have to grace that with an answer." And she stormed off in the direction of Hades Cabin.

Lou Ellen sidled up to Piper. "I think you hit a nerve."

"Hey, I thought the Oracle swore off boys, anyway?"

The pair almost woke up Camp Half-Blood with their laughter.

-Ω-

"Great, the ocean again."

Nico didn't usually talk to himself, but this was getting old. At least he had a boat this time, and there was no storm. Nico was floating on some kind of raft, with a crude white sail and a bronze navigation panel that he didn't know how to work. He was floating just offshore of a very unpleasant looking island.

The entire mass of rock was a concrete monster with iron bars and barbed wire for decoration. An enormous prison island, like Alcatraz, but scarier. Shadowy wind spirits flew around the caps of tall lookout towers, which were equipped with searchlights that swept back and forth. The place reminded Nico of the Underworld, but in this case, that wasn't a good thing. Nico found himself pitying whatever poor souls were incarcerated there.

Nico wondered what would happen if his raft was spotted. Sans sword, Nico didn't like his chances against those spirits. He wondered if he could get the complicated bronze dashboard working, when he spotted something.

The tallest tower on the island had a single celled window, as if a solitary cell was the cause of all this security. Atop the tower was an enormous black sign, like a billboard. One word. The name of this place, it would seem, written in chipped white paint. Nico could just make out the letters.

 _Ogygia._

Suddenly, the sky was on fire.


	7. Chapter 7

Alright, enough with this dream crap, time for a…

 **Chapter 7:** Wake up call

Nico was a cautious person by nature. He was slow to trust, and slow to feel safe. He planned for the worst scenarios, the most unbelievable of betrayals.

So sneaking into his bunk-room was quite the near death experience. Had it not been for Lou, they probably wouldn't have made it inside.

Two dormant Spartoi warriors, undead commandos, were buried just under the dark sod surrounding Hades's Cabin. The spell that activated them, laced around the black doorknob, was hard to detect, and Lou Ellen grabbed Rachel's wrist just in time.

Then the torches on either side of the door, burning with emerald Greek Fire, almost flame-broiled the group, until a quick hand sign and word in Ancient Greek snuffed out the flame, again from Lou.

When they finally got the door open, the sorceress sent out a probing wave of Mist to find the spell of death-sleep shimmering in the floorboards.

"Jeez, Nico," Clovis muttered, as his poplar rod nullified the spell, "paranoid, much?"

Pushing past Clovis crouched on the ground, Will made his way to Nico's bed. His friend laid under a blood-red sheet, tossing and turning as though something inside him wanted to be outside. His eyes were closed shut, his face contorted in concentration. Or perhaps… pain.

The son of Hypnos drew near. "Girls, you can come over here, he's not sleeping nude."

"Clovis!" Rachel gave him a scolding look, slightly dampened by the smile she had failed to contain.

The others crowded 'round, and for a moment, and then another, and another, the five looked down at their friend, twisting about in the throws of an unknown dream.

-Ω-

Nico watched the firestorm with a smile. He was floating too far offshore to see the form clearly, but he'd have known that maniac laugh anywhere. He watched the battlements crumble, the high walls and barbed wire blasted into piles of rubble. Finally the fiery comet burst through the cell in the high tower. As it flew out the other side the structure collapsed with an almighty **crash** , and Nico thought he could see a second figure, held in the arms of the comet. Nico chuckled. "Well, Calypso. Welcome to the wide world."

-Ω-

Finally, Piper spoke. "Guys… I'm sorry, but what are we meant to do? I know we all had weird dreams, and I get that something's wrong, but why are we here? _Now?_ In the middle of the night?"

"It must be time sensitive." Lou gave a start as Will finally spoke. "There has to be a reason we need to do this now."

The sorceress spoke up. "But what is _this?_ What are we even doing?"

Clovis looked at the group assembled. Time to explain, it seemed. "It's a kind of impromptu ceremony, or spell. We heal Nico, and he does what he's meant to do. We need to hurry though, 'cause he's on the clock, meaning _we're_ on the clock. Now, let me give you the rundown, and then we'll do this thing."

-Ω-

The raft tipped subtly as someone else stepped on. Nico turned, unsurprised at who he found there. It made sense she would come as her. "Hello, Aphrodite. Do you really have to look like my sister?"

Bianca's shoulders shrugged. "I felt uncomfortable enough coming here. I thought this would make things easier. I hope you don't mind."

Nico turned, sticking his feet in the water. "Well, I'm at peace with it now. So I suppose you can keep looking like that."

"Thank you, Nico."

-Ω-

"First, I'll use my power to gain manual access to Nico's dream, and therefore, his mind." Clovis moved to Nico's head. "I'll put my hand to his head, and that will start it. Will, you'll put a hand on my shoulder. I need you to think about every person you've ever healed, every remedy, every healing spell, everything you can remember. And above all, I need you to think about the Sun. Got it?"

Will, a tad confused, nodded. Clovis turned to the Counselor of Cabin 10. "Piper, you'll need to kneel down by the bed. Put a hand on Nico's chest, over to the left where his heart should be, and hold Will's free hand with your hand. Think about Jason, how you feel about him, things you two do together, that kind of thing."

Piper nodded. "Alright." She knelt by the bedside, looking at the sleeping demigod. "Oh, Nico." She spoke under her breath. She thought about how she'd acted in Europe on the Argo II. She hadn't been downright rude to Nico… but she could have been a lot nicer. "I'm sorry."

Clovis looked at Rachel. "Put both your hands on Piper's shoulders, and think about Delphi. Imagine you had your full power. Think about the way things need to end up."

Rachel moved behind Piper, looking down at Nico and thinking of the task ahead of him. Though Clovis had an inkling of what was going on, only Rachel knew how serious the situation was. She wondered if she should have brought Nico's gear from the armory, until she remembered how fast Nico could be outfitted for duty under normal circumstances. She grinned at the thought of how fast he'd be ready this time.

Lou Ellen stood by Clovis, waiting for her assignment. "Lou, I need you to give Will as much power as you can. Just charge him up, so he doesn't pass out."

"Oh, _gladly_." She moved to stand behind Will, and the medic gulped, remembering that he and his girlfriend had not been getting along as of late. This would be interesting…

-Ω-

Bianca's hunter eyes turned out to the island, surveying the flaming wreckage with satisfaction. "A heart broken over again and again over thousands of years. And I had nothing to do with it. I may have a shallow side, but Zeus took it too far with Calypso. She's such-" Bianca's voice broke, and Aphrodite collected herself. "Such a sweet girl. She deserves Leo. I owe him for finally ending her torment."

"So he's alive, then." He said it conversationally, not surprised, or questioning. Just stating a fact. He'd already guessed, but he wanted confirmation.

"Oh, yes. Though don't go telling your demigod friends, just yet. He wants to surprise them when he and Calypso are done with their…" She gave an ungodly giggle. "Well, I don't want to call it a honeymoon, as their not married, but when you get right down to it…"

Nico sighed. Leo was alive. And of course he was having the time of his life with the love of his life while his friends mourned back home. He smiled in spite of himself. Typical. Classic Leo. He smiled broader at the thought of the reaction at camp. Leo comes out of the sky on Festus with his girlfriend. He could practically hear Piper and Hazel shrieking, Percy and Jason shouting themselves hoarse, Frank probably throwing him into the air…

Imagining all of his friends together reminded Nico of everything else he had seen in this out-of-control nightmare. He was pretty sure he'd worked out the meaning, but not what it was trying to tell him. If anything, it made him happy, but a little bit sad. The Dove and her Storm, the Owl and her Ocean, the Shape-changer and his Jewel. But where did that leave Nico?

Alone. Per the usual. Leo had Calypso, and Will had Lou, but he had no one.

Mentally he slapped himself upside the head. _"Listen to yourself, di Angelo. You sound like a walking soap opera. Boo-hoo, no one likes you. No one gives a flying pig. Get on with your life. So much for the scary Son of Hades. Nothing but a lonely little broken-hearted loser._

These were the wrong thoughts to be thinking when Aphrodite was standing right behind him.

-Ω-

"Everyone ready?"

The demigods nodded, getting into position. Will glanced back, nervous. "Hey, Lou? I-I'm sorry. I was blind, and I don't… I just…"

A pair of thin arms snaked around Will, as a voice murmured softly in his ear. "You love me and don't deserve me?"

He felt her body press against his back. His voice was low and hoarse. "Yes."

She went on tiptoe to kiss the skin behind his ear. "Same here, Doc. Same here."

-Ω-

Sitting on a raft his missing friend had made, in the middle of an ocean that didn't exist, talking to his dead sister, who was actually the goddess of love. Well, this dream was just a little more interesting than most. And a whole lot more depressing.

"Why bother showing me this?" Nico rounded on the goddess, trying his best to be upset at something that looked just like Bianca. "Trying to make me feel worse? Haven't the gods gotten tired of beating the ever-loving crap out of me? How am I not boring by now? Doesn't some other sap deserve this more than me? It seems like I more than atoned for my sins a long time ago."

"Self-pity doesn't suit you, Nico," Aphrodite murmured. "You're not used to it. You're out of practice."

Rage burned in the cold spans of his eyes. "You don't know anything about me, do you? Self-pity pairs with my story perfectly. Like clouds and the rain. Like a graveyard and moonlight."

He couldn't look at her. He turned his eyes towards the slow sunset over the ocean. "Everyone I love was taken from me when I was young. The father I thought I had, the mother I never truly go to know, the sister I grew to love, just to lose her in the end. Then the theme changed. I was denied the love of those who weren't taken away. My father, a god I never believed in, is a cold-hearted, self-obsessed _nóthos_ -"

"Language," the goddess said quietly.

"-when I forgive the one who killed my sister, I fall for him…"

"It was never Percy's fault."

"And his heart is meant for some other _girl_ , because he doesn't feel like I do. Even my little sister, who I brought back from death, is a nation away. To top it off, I'm watching my best friends fall in love, and there's nothing I can do but watch. Because I could never tell Will that I'm… that I think… thought…"

There was no way to go on. He couldn't. He fell to his knees, his broken form rocking the carefully constructed raft precariously on the crystal waves of his dreams.

Careful steps made their way to the prone boy. Aphrodite sat next to Nico, her legs trailing in the water, letting the silence stretch on.

She spoke. "Did you know that it was a joke at first?"

Nico looked up at her, confused.

The goddess of love sighed. "Hm, how do I put this...

"You know from experience that my son, Eros, can be rather uncaring? On one occasion, he decided that it would be amusing to make one man fall in love with another man. He only meant to freak us Olympians out, but it turns out that humans can be surprising. Though it didn't happen often, after that day, such pairings, among men and women, would take place without Eros's involvement. Mortal scientists can say whatever they want about the subject, but the truth is, humans are the only creatures who- put frankly, are capable of putting love, and the heart, before biology. Humans have diverse and specific destinies, unlike many animals. And if they're destined to be with someone they can't have children with, then to Hades with science. 'Love conquers all' it would seem. Which makes me rather powerful, I suppose," she tittered.

Nico stared into the water. Why was she telling him this? What was the point?

Taking a breath, Aphrodite went on. "But you can't let your past define you, Nico. You can't turn your back on Love."

Nico blinked. "Turn my back? I've been denied that salve my whole life-"

"Because you didn't know where to look for it." From Bianca's satchel, Aphrodite pulled a dark, thin object.

It was a rose. With a stem of viridescent jade, the curved petals were made of the finest obsidian. And strangely enough, Nico recognized it.

"That's from my stepmother's garden…"

Bianca flipped her hair in a way Bianca had never flipped it while she'd lived. "Persephone and I don't always get along, but she does like you, Nico. I asked her for her choicest gem. Give it to her when you find her."

Nico sat up, his face entirely puzzled. "Find who now?"

-Ω-

"Now."

A gentle hand on Nico's head, and the convulsion's ceased. Clovis closed his physical eyes, and in his mind's eye, he could see… the ocean… an island in flames.

Piper laid a hand on Nico's chest, and warmth blossomed from her hand, as she remembered Aphrodite's words about Reyna. _A son of the Big Three…_

Will was shining. There was a light coming from underneath his skin, lighting the scene brightly. Lou Ellen embraced him from behind, whispering Ancient Greek into his ear. Each syllable seemed to magnify the healer's light, as the couple shed hopeful tears for their friend.

Rachel stood with her hands on Piper's shoulders, unsure of what to do. She didn't feel any different, but she felt as though she had to say something. Feeling stupid, she opened her mouth, and suddenly she found herself speaking in strident tones, wise and bold; not her own voice, and not the Oracle's, but a place in between. The words came without effort, and longer she spoke, the more confident she became. Her eyes began to burn with green light.

" _The time for sleep is long past- awaken your true self and be the person you were meant to be. For you are not alone, Niccolo di Angelo, but one half of a whole. The goddess has made amends, and your friends are here now. You are the son of Hades, and in this hour, you are the hero. Your blade is needed elsewhere. Now, King of Ghosts,_ _ **up with your sword.**_ "

-Ω-

Nico reached out to take the rose from Aphrodite, but a great warmth was blossoming deep within him, and he was losing feeling in his fingers. He was falling backwards down a long tunnel, Bianca's voice fading with the sound of the ocean. "Hurry, little hero."

Now he was really falling, towards a volcano's plume of steam. She was holding his hand, her dark hair flying out behind her. She was imbuing him with her strength, yelling at him to shadow travel.

He did, and suddenly he was free-running across the rooftops of the Old Viejo in Puerto Rico. There was desperation in his steps, and he feared he would be two late. With a final burst of speed, he drew his sword and dashed along the last stretch of stucco, and he was leaping, falling, swinging his sword with all his might. With a barbarous cry, he slashed the bowstrings of the Hunter Giant, and fell to the pavement. He stood, sword raised, the last defense between Orion and his quarry.

And then Nico's sword was gone, and he was standing in the shadows of the campfire, listening to her speak, wishing he wasn't so comfortable with being on the sidelines. And then she was reaching out. She pulling him to her, into the light. In front of near 300 demigods, she was holding him, a tear from her cheek wetting the skin of his jaw, and he was putting his arms around her…

Pain.

She was in pain.

A mountain top. It was night, a fire cast dancing shadows. Dragon women with strong cords. A knife. Why was there a knife, so close to her? and she wasn't kicking, cursing, threatening, she just hung there, limp. And still.

-Ω-

The five demigods, gathered around Nico's bed, jumped back as the boy flailed in the sheets, his eyes open, and wild with fear, as he shouted one word.

"Reyna!"


	8. Chapter 8

The children of Hades are known for having a myriad of special powers, such as having a sixth sense for telling when someone is…

 **Chapter 8:** Close to Death

Many times, Reyna had heard the story of the Battle of Mount Diablo; how Piper, with the aid of Leo and Jason, had rescued her father from the clutches of the terrible giant Enceladus. When Piper was telling the story, she was a just a girl with a knife, while Leo was a maniacal genius who could command heavy machinery, and Jason a dashing hero who single-handily did battle with huge, fire-breathing warriors. Piper's version of the story tended to omit two details that the boys usually included: Piper's ruthless slaughter of the lumbering Earthborn, and the heart-wrenching image of Tristan McLean, bloodied and beaten, tied to a stake before the giant's bonfire. Reyna could sympathize with Piper's father.

Her own situation wasn't too different, at the moment.

Bonfire? Check. The blaze had gone beyond campfire a little while ago. Beaten and bloody? Reyna was pretty sure there was blood on her face, but it was hard to tell, as most everything in that general area was numb. Her vision was blurry, her hearing pitched with a ringing that alternated between wedding bells and the clash of sword on legionnaire shield. Tied to a pole?

That was the most embarrassing thing about this whole fiasco. (Besides the part where they'd caught her in the first place.) Being tied to a pole was what they did to helpless captives. Had the Praetor been at full strength, it would have been simple to release herself and then run her captors through with the very stick they'd lashed her to. But being beaten within an inch of your life has a way of taking all of the fight out of you.

The human body has 24 ribs, and Reyna was certain they had broken at least 17 of hers, and probably all of them. In addition, her sword-hand had been twisted at an unnatural angle, and it wasn't a question of whether she had a concussion, but whether she'd ever recover from said head injury.

Reyna hated Dracanae.

Percy had told stories about running into the worst of this particular kind of monster; Echidna, Kampe, even running into the monster Lamia in New Jersey. (Though what Lamia was doing in New Jersey, Percy had never told her.) But even the lesser Dragon Women were a pain in the _podex._ Dracaena were crafty, and had ways of carrying around specific grudges and vendettas. They could be unpredictable, hard to read. And they had a habit of plotting and devising schemes that, when they actually worked, could prove deadly. Like, for example, holding a sentry hostage, waiting for a bigger fish to come and try to save the poor kid.

Reyna hated comparing herself to a fish, but it wasn't a bad metaphor. They had taken her, hook, line and sinker. It'd been going so well; her eagle had dropped her off in cover of dark, a fair walk from the enemy camp. Reyna hadn't gone all Percy Jackson and charged in without a plan- she'd taken the Annabeth approach, getting a feel for the situation, waiting for the perfect moment to move in.

Then they'd hit her in the head, and put a knife to Eric's throat, and just like that it was over. Or, her mission was over. They hadn't been done smacking her around, that was for sure. These monsters were too smart to take any risks when it came to someone as dangerous as Reyna.

There was one silver lining to all of this, and that was that Eric was still alive. So long as her captors didn't give in to their hunger and eat him, the situation wasn't totally lost.

Of course, Eric was a guy, and where Emposae were involved, that always meant trouble.

As if Dragon Women weren't enough, there had to be she-daemon as well. This just kept getting better. Oh yeah, and if Reyna could believe the bits and pieces she'd overheard, a bunch of Laestrygonian Giants would arrive by morning, and the whole happy entourage would march down to Camp Jupiter at sunrise, demand the Legion's Eagle in return for the Praetor, (herself,) and then, Eagle in hand, slaughter everyone regardless.

Yeah. Some days, being a demigod pretty much sucked.

Problem was, Frank trusted Reyna to come out alright. He'd be worried out of his mind by the end of the night, but he wouldn't send anyone to look for her and Eric until morning, which was right about when the _stercus_ was going to hit the fan.

No one knew she was in trouble, no one was coming to help her, and when the sun rose, the world Reyna loved would be rocked to the core, just before she was killed. For the first time since Scipio, her pegasus, had laid down his life for her, Reyna Ramirez Arellano allowed a single tear to trace down her bruised and bloody face. She'd proven unequal to the task, and the Legion was about to pay for her mistake. She'd lost a case of 12 Imperial Gold javelins, her sword was gone, they'd even taken her silver folding knife. She had nothing.

So what was this feeling?

There was a warm hope that was coming not from deep within her, but from the silver ring on her right hand. Exerting what small strength she had, Reyna craned her neck and twisted her bound hands so that she could see the ring, see the design etched in the metal. Not the crossed sword-and-torch of Bellona…

But a silver skull, grinning a warped smile up at the girl.

The warmth from the ring continued to fill Reyna, taking the pain from her chest and her wrist, quieting the pounding in her head. As exhaustion stole over her, she whispered a name as she fell asleep.

 _Nico…_


	9. Chapter 9

Alright, Nico,

 **Chapter 9:** It's go time.

Since Jason had been a little boy, rain and thunder had been his softest lullaby. He never got a better night's sleep than when the sky was loud.

So the way Jason felt now, sitting up in his bunk, groping for his glasses, was entirely new to him. It was as if a storm was closing in on him, and he had no choice but to move, or risk being caught in its path.

Changing quickly, Jason took a look out the window as he strapped on his sword. Stars burned in the heavens above, mocking Jason's lack of sleep. Nothing interesting could never happen during the day. No, it had to be in the middle of the night.

Jason left his cabin like a camouflaged lighthouse; his blue jeans, purple tee, and the black of his scabbard hid well in the dark- his white tennis shoes and golden hair ruined the effect. Jason was only marginally worried about stealth. He didn't want to draw attention this late, but he doubted he'd have any real trouble with the patrols. It was only when he engaged in… _social_ matters with Piper that Jason avoided prying eyes.

Striding to the end of the Cabin Omega, Jason was drawn to the scene in front of the Armory. A trio of angry satyrs with flashlights were trying to force access past… wait, Clovis was out after hours? Jason felt a disturbance in the force- Clovis awake in the middle of the night ranked right up there with UFO sightings, the stupidity of Mortals, Hermes infomercials, and everything else Jason simply could not believe.

Piper out after dark? Now we were back in the realm of plausibility.

To round up the menagerie, there was Will Solace, actually looking like he was going to hit someone, Lou Ellen from Hecate, threatening to turn the night guards into piglets, and Rachel Dare, who was the first to notice Jason coming over. She ribbed Piper hard, looking pointedly towards him. Pushing past the scrum, Piper went to her boyfriend.

Jason smiled. "Y'know Pipes, we usually do this together. I feel kinda left out."

Then he noticed the look on Piper's face. She was trying to smile, but she looked nervous. And worried.

"Piper? What's wrong? Why is Clovis hitting the volunteer guard with a stick? And why do the satyrs want to get in the armory, anyway?"

"Jason, it's complicated, it's… Nico."

Mental shields shot up, and Jason's brain went to DEFCON 2. "Nico's in there? What's going on?"

"We, well, Rachel thinks that- I tried to send an Iris Message earlier in the bathroom, I tried lots of times, but she won't respond, and now Nico looks like he's going to… I don't… I think Reyna's in trouble."

DEFCON 1. Red alert. Battle stations. "How do you know? Where is she? And why is-"

Clovis, Rachel, Will, and Lou Ellen, all standing in front of the doors into the armory, were suddenly thrown forward into the flustered night guard as the doors flew open. Inky shadows leaked out of the darkness, and the wind changed direction, now much colder than before.

He wasn't terrifying; he was Terror, itself. His black combat boots were studded with Celestial Bronze, meaning instant death to any monstrous face he stomped on. His greaves, gauntlets, and breastplate were all done in Stygian Iron, making black the prevailing theme. The chain around his waist was an ungodly alloy of Celestial Bronze and mortal steel. His war helm had no horsehair plume, but _did_ sport a face visor- a grinning skull. Through its eye sockets, Jason saw a pair of familiar eyes, burning with rage.

Nico stopped to help Lou Ellen to her feet, then give her and Will a quick hug. He exchanged a few words with Rachel, and shook Clovis's hand, before making an offhand comment that made Rachel blush and Clovis look at his shoes. Then he made his way to where Jason and Piper were standing.

"Hail, _Pontifex_."

"DiAngelo. Little late for taking inventory, don't you think?"

"Can't be helped. You know how it is."

"I understand this concerns Reyna?"

"And if Rachel's correct, New Rome itself."

Jason nodded, considering the implications. "What can I do?"

"I need instantaneous transport to Mount Tam. Thanks to this, uh, _entourage,"_ he stressed, gesturing at the other demigods who had gathered in a semi-circle around him, "I've received some kind of boost to my power, but I can't shadow travel across the country. Not without help."

Selene's crescent, mirrored in his glasses, made Jason's grin seem ghoulish. "Well then Nico, I think it's time you got over your fear of horses."

) _Opos ta koraki myges_ (

Nico knew that animals hated him.

What was disheartening was how vocal they were about it.

It wasn't their fault, Nico knew. They could _sense_ certain demise about him, the same way they knew to shy from a rattlesnake, or get away from a chariot crash as fast as possible.

Now, charged with a wellspring of Death Magic and geared for battle, the horses were on the verge of bashing the stable to pieces. They reared as he passed, snorting and stomping with wide eyes.

Of course, they needed a pegasus. The camp had many healthy horses, but only a pegasus could blur space the way a centaur could. The problem was finding one that wouldn't throw Nico off the moment he climbed on. As Will and Jason wrestled with Guido, trying to calm him down, Piper and Lou brushed Poppy and whispered in her ear, probably apologizing for trying to make her deal with the death kid.

Nico stood nervously off to the side. This was such a stupid plan. His friends would never find a mount that was willing to carry him. And what pegasus could deal with shadow travel? Nico had pictured his death many times, and being thrown from a horse's back a hundred feet up in the air had to be in his Top 10 least favorite. If not Top 5.

They were wasting time. That much was evident as Clovis strained against a smallish chestnut mount, groaning, "C'mon, Poquito, we… need… you'raaAAAH!"

For being so aptly named, Poquito was strong. He swung Clovis through the air until the counselor let go of the horse's lead, flying into the curly redhead minding her own business. The two tumbled into a blushing, stammering tangle on the floor.

Nico started twisting the ring on his finger. The torch and sword glinted up in the silver. This wasn't working.

The boy wasn't sure who he was praying to; Aphrodite, Persephone, Bellona, his father, he didn't care. Someone had to hear him. _Please. I don't need a miracle, or a lightning bolt. I just need a horse._

Nico was aware of a volume increase. Guido and Poquito suddenly held very still, and the noise coming from the other stalls ceased. A wave of sound was crashing from the far end of the stable. A horse was screaming, bashing and cracking wood, going totally berserk. Jason came out into the aisle, straining to see what _xiroi karpoi_ animal had the stall on the end. "Wait, is tha-"

There was an almighty clash, and the stall door on the end flew all to pieces. Clovis and Rachel scrambled to get up off the floor and out of the way, as a jet black stallion with wings like a giant raven came barreling towards the demigods. The others backed up quick. They knew how wild Blackjack could get while Percy was away. This was the last thing they needed now.

Nico didn't flich.

The pegasus stopped inches from the boy. Two pairs of dark eyes stared into each other; one was cold and sharp, the other insane and fiery. This beast was not afraid of Death. Blackjack had been inches from death before, but he'd been saved by a girl who hardly knew him. Seemed it was time to return the favor.

Jason and the rest gaped in amazement, with a crazy smile creeping onto Piper's face. Another second of silence. Then Nico smirked.

"You'll do."

|| _Otan tha tin vreite||_

Tightening his saddle, Nico turned to his friends. Grasping Jason's arm, Nico grew somber. "I won't fail her."

Jason smiled. "I know you won't." Stepping back, he gave Nico a Roman salute.

As Nico raised his hand in response, Piper stole forward and lifted his visor. A soft kiss ghosted on his cheek, and her breath blew over his ear as she whispered, "That's for Reyna. When you find her..."

Nico blinked hard, looking at this girl who was looking at him as if he was someone worthy of love. He pulled her into a tight hug, then slammed his visor shut. Swinging aside his mount, he called out, "Get to bed, you delinquents! Do you have any idea what time it is?!"

As laughing, biting comebacks came from his friends, Nico kicked Blackjack into a run. The horse spread his wings, and Jason's parting gift came swift behind them. The wind sent Blackjack spiraling into the sky faster and faster. High over the reaching fingers of the forest, all four of the dark eyes saw the camp from the air, and the six goofballs far below, looking up at him with eager eyes.

Nico leaned down to call to his horse. "Wanna go with some flair?"

It was hard to distinguish the replying whiny from, _Heck yeah, boi._

With one hard beat of his wings, the pegasus shot higher into the air. Then the great wings folded, and boy and horse plummeted straight down, the ground growing nearer by the second. Nico lay flat against the horse's back, relishing in the rush of adrenaline that came with knowing he wasn't stopping. A scream from one of the girls, and then the appointed time of impact came. The shadows swallowed the horse and his boy. All was a nightmare. And Nico diAngelo was the monster.


End file.
